The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has officially announced that the general elections in the country will take place on February 11, 2024. This announcement was made during a hearing at the Supreme Court in response to petitions advocating for timely polls.
ECP’s lawyer, Sajeel Swati, informed the three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, that the elections will be conducted after the completion of the delimitation process on November 30. He explained that all necessary arrangements, including delimitation, will be finalized by January 29.
Regarding the delimitation process, the lawyer stated that it will take 3 to 5 days to issue the final lists. By counting 54 days from December 5, they arrived at the January 29 date.
The ECP is considering holding the polls on a Sunday to facilitate greater participation. According to this plan, the first Sunday would fall on February 4, and the second on February 11. The decision to hold elections on February 11 was made by the ECP.
Upon hearing this, Chief Justice Isa directed the lawyer to consult with the chief election commissioner and seek input from the president before confirming the date. The Supreme Court then adjourned the hearing until 2pm.
Since the removal of the Imran Khan government through a no-confidence motion in April 2022, Pakistan has experienced political uncertainty. The Shehbaz Sharif-led government, which took over, dissolved the National Assembly on August 9. This move, along with the premature dissolution of the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies, was aimed at allowing the electoral authority to conduct elections within 90 days.
The ECP’s decision to delay the polls was influenced by the Council of Common Interest’s approval of the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023. This approval mandated fresh delimitations based on the census results.
As a result, the ECP announced the schedule for new delimitations on August 17. However, in September, they confirmed that the general elections would take place in the last week of January 2024. During the same month, the ECP released the provisional report on the delimitation of constituencies. Despite multiple petitions filed in the Supreme Court against the delay, they were not addressed during the tenure of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
